JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville jury on Thursday night found a man guilty of his friend's 2002 murder.
Patrick Stom strangled and shot Christopher Chamberlain before burning his body and cutting his head off.
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Investigators said Stom admitted to burning the victim's remains and cutting off his head, which was later found in a creek, but said it was done in self-defense.
After hearing closing arguments, the judge gave jurors the option of staying at the courthouse to deliberate or to begin the process on Friday. The jury chose to stay, and a few hours later it came back with a verdict: guilty of first-degree murder.
"You have a 31-year-old man brutally murdered. He was executed," Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda said. "This is as cowardly an act as you can imagine -- being shot in the back of the head."
Chamberlain's family said they have been waiting for this day.
"We finally got justice after four years," said the victim's mother, Joyce Chamberlin.
As he was walked out of the courtroom in shackles, Stom said he was feeling no emotion.
Jurors heard the gruesome details of Chamberlain's death. The jury was shown pictures of the man's skull, which had sat in a Mandarin creek for two years before it was found.
The defense did not call any witnesses. Defense attorneys tried to turn the jury's attention from how Chamberlain was killed to why he was killed.
"It was the gut-wrenching fear; the instantaneous shocking fear, the blood-pumping-in-your-veins fear," said defense attorney Lewis Buzzell.
Stom told detectives he and Chamberlain struggled over a gun and that he shot the victim so he wouldn't be the one killed.
"When somebody has got you down on your hand and knees, begging for your life with a gun to your head, I can't think of anything that would be more imminently dangerous than that," Buzzell said.
During closing arguments, the state said it believed that if Chamberlain were in the courtroom, a different story would be told. They said because of Stom's continued lies, investigators heard many different stories.
"Who's not here to talk about what happened during that murder? The question I would ask you is why is that person not here?" said prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda.
During closing arguments, the state said jurors should believe only one of the stories told: "He shot an unarmed man who wasn't even facing him, who wasn't even looking at him."
Stom is scheduled to return to the courtroom Friday for sentencing. The state did not seek the death penalty, is asking that Stom be sentenced to life in prison.
Previous Stories:
- October 18, 2006: Jury Hears Confessions Of Accused Murderer
- October 18, 2006: Man Charged In Horrific Murder Claims Self-Defense
- October 17, 2006: Man Accused Of Brutal 2002 Killing Goes On Trial
- April 26, 2004: Police Charge Man With Brutal 2002 Murder